A successful drive

Del Cerro residents Kassy, Lindy and Tom Kaiser collected over 3.5 tons of food for the Salvation Army as part of their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. This year marked their 31st event.

A record number of 104 families received a box of food containing a turkey and all of the Thanksgiving dinner trimmings: dressing, Jell-O, pumpkin, cake mix, many cans of vegetables and fruits, dinner rolls, bags of potatoes, apples, and onions, dinner napkins, a roasting pan and even recipes for roasting a turkey and making dressing and gravy.

Windmill Farms and Matt Mann provided the turkeys; Home Depot provided the boxes; Nancy Losek collected food at Pizazz Salon and Spa; Pat and Chuck McGregor provided the roasting pans; and Jack and Candy Kirchner donated their garage to assemble the boxes.

“This is only possible because of the wonderful generosity and caring of Del Cerro residents and friends,” Kassy said. “Again, thank you for your participation and philanthropy.”

The Salvation Army selected the recipient families and then picked up the large boxes of food on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, in time to distribute to the selected families. The Salvation Army reported that this is the only drive of its kind in San Diego where food is provided for the entire dinner.

Patrick Henry grad wins on TV

Other than billionaires, who doesn’t want to be a millionaire?

For Patrick Henry graduate and current Grossmont College student Megan Carolin, that question was recently put to the test, literally, when she appeared on Fox’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” game show. The trivia contest gives contestants a chance to take home cash prizes for answering a series of increasingly difficult questions.

Carolin, who currently works in child care, didn’t quite make it to millionaire status, but did take home $20,000. The episode aired on Dec. 5 and Carolin and friends and family celebrated with a viewing party at her home.

Mission Gorge shopping center sold

The Riverdale Shopping Center has new owners.

On Dec. 4, partners Peckham Properties, Inc., Commercial Sites Limited and Wells Fargo Bank sold the Mission Gorge property, which includes a CVS and Armstrong Garden Center, to Becker Properties, LLC for $10.1 million.

“The shopping center is an infill property and 50 percent of the tenants have been on the property for more than 20 years,” said Brad Becker, principal of Becker Properties, in a press release. “The sales volume for the tenants are excellent, the rents are well below market and there is an opportunity to refresh the appearance and tenant mix in the near future. This completes Becker Properties’ fourth acquisition in San Diego County and seventh overall in Southern California in the past 24 months.”

Built in 1980, Riverdale Shopping Center is a wholly owned 66,416-square-foot shopping center on 10.22 acres of leased-fee and fee-simple land and located at 10320-10370 Friars Road. The single-level CVS-anchored retail center was 100 percent leased at the time of sale and includes a mix of service, retail and food businesses, including Black Angus.

Crusader Soccer Club winter soccer camps and spring registration

Registration for the Crusaders Soccer Club (CSC) spring season for recreational soccer which begins March 4 is now available on the CSC website – sandiegocrusaders.com.

All games are played on Sundays beginning at 11 a.m., and all games are played on the new artificial turf fields at Pershing Middle School. The eight game season schedule will run through April 29 with no games on Easter Sunday.

For the players born between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2015 the cost for the spring season is $115 and for players born Dec. 31, 2013 and before, the cost is $130. Registration includes a uniform (shorts, shirts and socks) and insurance. Register a child by Dec. 31, 2017 and receive a $25 early registration discount. Registration will end on Jan. 31, 2018.

Because of new state laws, all registrations must be made online. Your credit card will not be charged until the registration has been accepted by the CSC Registrar of Players, at which time you will be notified. Coaches will receive an additional $40 discount for one of their own children playing on the team they coach.

Director of coaching Rene Miramontes will be conducting two free coaching clinics; one each in January and February. CSC will also be holding a free clinic for referees focusing on the basics of the game.

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, CSC is offering soccer recreation and competitive player camps for girls and boys on the artificial turf field at Pershing Middle School The camps are from 9 to 11 a.m.; for recreation players ages 10 to 13, the cost is $95, on Dec. 26,27 and 28; and the cost for competitive players, born 2005 to 2008, is $130 on Dec. 29, 30 and 31. Both camps will be taught by Miramontes and his CSC professional coaching staff. Register at sandiegocrusaders.com.

Gulls player launches student scholar program

A player with the San Diego Gulls hockey team has announced a scholarship for young students that he is launching with his wife. Jordan Samuels-Thomas, a left wing with the local American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, made the announcement Nov. 24 at Valley View Casino (formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena) during a game with the Bakersfield Condors.

Called the Samuels-Thomas Scholars Academic Excellence Program, it will honor students on a monthly basis for academic performance, classroom participation and leadership skills. The program’s goal is to make a positive impact with youth in local elementary schools and motivate students in the classroom to accomplish their educational goals. The program will also recognize special education students at the middle school level.

Each student recognized will receive a backpack filled with school supplies, tickets for the honoree and his/her family to a Gulls game, and a meet-and-greet with Samuels-Thomas and other players after the game.

“My wife and I are thrilled to create the Samuels-Thomas Scholars program,” Samuels-Thomas said in a press release. “Education has and always will be important to our family. San Diego’s vibrant and diverse community has blessed us with the opportunity to work with kids from all walks of life and reward them for their academic efforts and achievements. Our efforts are focused to encourage kids to keep working hard no matter what adversity they face.”

For more information about the Gulls, visit SanDiegoGulls.com.

San Diego considered extremely unaffordable

More bad news for San Diegans who hope to own a home.

A new national survey of the 50 most populous cities in North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico) finds that San Diego is the 10th most unaffordable real estate market on the continent and ninth in the United States.

San Diego has a median home selling price of $560,000, considerably less when compared to San Francisco and Manhattan, but more than twice the national median.

The 10 least affordable North American cities are Vancouver, Canada; Manhattan, New York; San Francisco, California; Brooklyn, New York; New York City (all five boroughs); Los Angeles, California; Boston, Massachusetts; San Jose, California; Seattle, Washington; and San Diego.

In Mexico, Acapulco was ranked 15th and Mexico City was 20th in North America.

The survey was completed by Point2 Homes, an international real estate search portal. To read the full list, visit bit.ly/2jt1L8I.

City Attorney’s Office awarded DUI prosecution grant

The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has awarded San Diego a $294,414 grant to help prosecute cases of drugged driving. The money will be used to give special training to prosecutors and fund a team that works on drug DUI cases from arrest to conviction.

“Driving under the influence of drugs can have devastating effects on San Diego drivers and their families,” City Attorney Mara W. Elliott said in a press statement. “Our city continues to see DUI cases involving the use of prescription drugs, marijuana, and illegal drugs, often in combination with alcohol. This grant allows our highly specialized prosecution team to work closely with law enforcement to hold accountable those who endanger our fellow citizens.”

The program is designed to prevent impaired driving and reduce drug-impaired traffic fatalities and injuries. In 2014, there were 79 deaths and 2,154 serious injuries as a result of DUI crashes in the county of San Diego. Funding from this DUI Prosecution Grant will aid the City Attorney’s Office in handling these cases.

Prosecution team members will work with California’s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Training Network to expand knowledge and specialized training, including the emerging problem of drug-impaired driving. Team members will share information with peers and law enforcement agencies throughout the county and state.

While alcohol remains the worst offender for DUI crashes, the San Diego City Attorney’s Office supports the new effort from OTS that aims to drive awareness that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” Prescription medications and marijuana can also be impairing by themselves, or in combination with alcohol, and can result in a DUI arrest.